This invention relates to ducted heating and air-conditioning systems and is particularly concerned with providing an improved register and boot assembly for use in such systems.
In ducted central heating or air-conditioning systems, heated or conditioned air is delivered to various room or other spaces within a building via a piped or ducted network from a centrally located plant. In such systems, air vents are often located in the floors of the rooms or spaces to which conditioned air is to be supplied. However, air vents may equally be provided in the walls or ceiling of the room or space.
Generally in the installation of ducted heating or air-conditioning systems, the entry point of conditioned air is provided via two components of an air delivery system: a boot; and a register.
Historically, the boot is a component having an air inlet portion and a mouth portion defining an air outlet, the shape of which corresponds to a hole provided in the floor, wall or ceiling of the room to which heated or conditioned air is to be supplied. The air inlet portion is designed to be attached to the incoming duct carrying the conditioned air.
The second component or xe2x80x9cregisterxe2x80x9d is adapted to fit over the mouth portion of the boot and is usually designed to diffuse the incoming air to the best advantage for the room or space. Usually, louvres are formed in the face of the register. The register may also include devices behind the face to regulate and/or close off the air supply.
In Australia over the past ten years or so, moulded plastic diffusers suitable only for ceiling applications have become popular and, in some cases, incorporate within their construction both the inlet connection for the ducting and the outlet register or xe2x80x9cfacexe2x80x9d to the conditioned space. However, all known floor entry points consist of an entry boot and a floor register. In the United States of America, Canada and other countries where ducted heating or air-conditioning is popular, most entry points for conditioned air delivery have both a register and a boot which can be relatively expensive to manufacture and time consuming to install.
It is therefore desirable to provide an improved register and boot assembly for a ducted heating or air-conditioning system which is relatively inexpensive to produce and relatively simple to install.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a register and boot assembly for a ducted heating or air-conditioning system the assembly comprising:
a boot member having a tubular air inlet portion and a mouth portion defining an air outlet;
a register mounting member adapted to be connected to the boot member and having closed side walls and open front and rear faces; and
a register face member adapted to be mounted on the mounting member so as to cover the open, front face of the mounting portion.
The register mounting member is preferably detachably connected to the boot member. Preferably, the boot member has a flange surrounding the air outlet of the mouth portion and the rear part of the register mounting member is adapted to engage with the flange to attach the register mounting member to the boot member.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, the register mounting member and flange are substantially rectangular in shape and the mounting member has channel formations on opposite sides engageable with corresponding sides of the flange of the boot member so that the mounting member can slide onto the boot member to be retained thereon.
Whilst the boot member, register mounting member and register face member are preferably rectangular in shape, it will be appreciated that they could be of other shapes, such as circular, hexagonal, etc.
The register and boot assembly preferably includes an air flow control device. In a preferred embodiment, the air flow control device includes a baffle rotatably mounted within the register mounting member. A control member may be conveniently provided to operate the air flow control device.
The control member is preferably in the form of a slide member which is mounted for slidable movement relative to the register face member. The slide member preferably has a portion engageable with a co-operating part of the air flow control device in such a manner that slidable movement of the slide member causes rotational movement of the air flow control device to regulate and/or close the air flow through the register and boot assembly.
Preferably, the register face member has a louvred face portion in the form of a grille of transverse bars with openings therebetween. The register face member preferably also has a transverse slot and the slide member preferably has one or more legs which extend through the slot and engage with a pintle which is offset from the axis of rotation of the rotatable baffle. An adjustable stop may be provided for restricting sliding movement of the control slide and therefore rotational movement of the baffle to provide volume air control.
The register mounting member preferably has resilient securing clips provided at opposite locations on its side wall and/or end walls for mounting the assembly in a complementary sized aperture in a floor, wall or ceiling of the room or other space to which heated or conditioned air is to be supplied. The securing clips preferably have flexible portions extending outwardly from the register mounting portion and which are adapted to flex inwardly when the mounting portion is inserted into the aperture in the floor, wall or ceiling. After insertion, the securing clips flex outwardly to engage with the sides of the aperture to retain the register mounting portion in position in the aperture.
The register face member preferably has a mounting portion of external dimensions similar to the internal dimensions of the mounting member so that the mounting portion can fit snugly within the mounting member. Preferably, areas of the external surface of the mounting portion have gripping formations, such as ridges or corrugations, for engagement with complementary gripping formations on the side and/or end walls of the mounting member.
In one particularly preferred embodiment, the gripping formations are provided on internal surfaces of the securing clips which are arranged to clip over the side walls and/or end walls of the mounting member.
In a further advantageous feature of the invention, the register and boot assembly is preferably supplied for installation with a removable membrane which covers the open front face of the mounting member or the mouth of the boot member. Such a membrane is arranged to protect the entry of dust, debris and moisture into the mounting member and/or the boot when the mounting member and/or boot are placed in position in a floor or wall aperture some time prior to subsequent assembly of the mounting member and/or register.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a register and boot assembly for a ducted heating or air-conditioning system, the assembly including a boot having a tubular air inlet portion and a mouth portion defining an air outlet, and a register adapted to be attached to the boot member, the register including a front face with at least one opening, wherein a removable membrane is provided which covers the front face and/or the mouth portion of the boot to prevent the entry of dust, debris and moisture into the boot prior to attachment of the register.